China’s August exports pick up speed

Resilient industry: A factory worker in Hangzhou. Shipments from China rose at a faster-than-expected rate of 25.6% in August from a year earlier. — AFP

BEIJING: China’s exports unexpectedly grew at a faster pace in August thanks to solid global demand, helping take some of the pressure off the world’s second-biggest economy as it navigates its way through headwinds from several fronts.

China staged an impressive recovery from a coronavirus-battered slump, but economic momentum has weakened recently due to the Delta variant-driven Covid-19 outbreaks, high raw material prices, slowing exports, tighter measures to tame hot property prices and a campaign to reduce carbon emissions.